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PC sales tumble across the world

by on21 January 2014



First double-digit drop in Asia

PC sales have been slowing down for a couple of years, but until now the biggest slump was limited to Europe and North America. Developing countries and emerging markets like Asia and South America faired a bit better.

 

However, according to IDC’s latest figures, PC sales in the Asia Pacific region (sans Japan) have gone off a cliff. Total shipments in 2013 were just 108 million units, down 10 percent from 2012.

"The economic sluggishness in big emerging markets in the region adversely affected buying sentiments," IDC said. "On the consumer side, smartphone and tablet distractions spread throughout the region this year, further contributing to the sharp decline in the PC market."

In Europe the situation is as bleak as ever. Sales in EMEA fell 15.7 percent compared to 2012. Just 88.3 million PCs were shipped in EMEA, marking the region’s sixth consecutive decline. Sales of portable PCs were down 9 percent, while sales of desktops were down 1.7 percent.

The market contracted in Q4 and the holiday season wasn’t enough to turn things around. Desktops are proving quite a bit more resilient as they are usually bought by businesses rather than individual consumers.

Last modified on 21 January 2014
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